Are MMOs the New Golf?

We've all heard the rumors: Dave Chappelle loves World of Warcraft. So does Jon Stewart. Asia Carrera kills in Unreal Tournament.

But it turns out that perhaps another group of power-players are addicted to WoW - high-tech entrepreneurs, big-idea folks, internet movers and shakers. Is WoW turning into a place where they can meet and find each other? I wrote a story on it for 1UP.com: Is WoW the New Golf?

It's an interesting idea, but WoW is a long way from Friendster or mySpace or LinkedIn. For one, it's a lot harder to browse for friends; the server system is optimized for play experience, not for contact volume. And then the game itself is so involving that, unlike taking a stroll through the links, there's a lot less potential time for schmoozing while playing. At the lower levels, at least.

Still, there is something to the fact that a lot of people, including celebrities and CEOs and the like, are now choosing to relax by playing games online. With a little research you may be able to join Jon Stewart's raiding party next time you log on.

I talked with Joi Ito, a WoW player with the passion of the newly converted, about his guild, "We Know", and whether the buzz on it comes from the fact that he's attached to the project. I got the idea for the story because Eric, who's Joi's friend and fellow Guild-member, told me an amusing anecdote about going out to brunch with a big group of people and a mobile entrepreneur-type was talking about the very same guild with another bruncher.

Anyway, I took video of the chat with Joi while he also showed us around Azeroth; I'm working on editing it now and I'll post it up later. It was an experiment that turned out, I think, rather well! Thanks to Eric for his help.

Comments

[Darth Pixel]

Jane,

- game girl advance's TrackBack support is broken.
- jane at gamegirladvance dot com is misconfigured and no one can contact you at this address.

DP

[Tallest]

Will this set up for rival companies to form guilds on some servers so their execs can bring down raids on each other? Probably not, but it really makes you think.

How much longer until we see.
CEO

[Jason Boog]

Great story Jane.

"Besides, even if certain folks may have logged on initially to make tech friends and influence people, there's too much structure in the game for people who aren't actually gamers. You wouldn't last very long in WoW if all you wanted to do was talk shop."

I think this kind of lurker is a whole other story, we're going to see more of them in MMOGs as everybody gets faster connections.

I'm excited to see the transcript. I wish I could have a transcript of real life reporting experiences too!

[souris]

um, WOW?! eric told us the same anecdote on january 28th and this this cnet story was written because of it.

[souris]

um, WOW?! eric told us the same anecdote on january 28th and this cnet story was written because of it.

[Pablo]

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